"But none of it was true," Kerry said. "We did nothing but good for them."
"Truth didn't matter," Alastair said. "They wanted a big splash on CNN, big scandal, show they were on the ball, they'd uncovered a plot--"
"They didn't fall down on the job like they did last Tuesday?" Dar spoke up for the first time. She smiled grimly as Hamilton pointed both index fingers at her.
"But really," Kerry said. "They have to prove things like that."
"No they don't," Hamilton said. "That's what changed. They passed a law that gives them the right to hold anyone they think's a terrorist for however long they want, wherever they want, without no charges, or no lawyers."
Kerry stared at him. "What?"
"Ask your mother," Hamilton said. "They said it was necessary so they could find more terrorists planning other atrocities here."
"But we're not terrorists," Kerry said.
"It doesn't matter." Alastair exhaled. "That's what I finally understood, standing there on that damn platform with those damn smug jackasses all around me, telling me exactly what they were going to do because they knew I couldn't do anything about it."
"All that mattered was the spin," Hamilton said. "They told me that when I was looking to file those lawsuits. Told me to not even bother. The law didn't matter right now."
"So anyway," Alastair picked the ball back up, "there I am, standing in the middle of hell wondering how I'm at least going to warn my wife I won't be home when I spot Kerry standing there with a gaggle of senators, and I'm wondering what on earth's going on."
Kerry managed a smile. "I walked into the building with my mother," she said. "It's the only way I was going to get in. She ran interference with the guards, but she had no idea what was going on either. I just had time to get to the server room and put the optic in place before I got upstairs."
"So you knew they were up?" Hamilton asked.
Kerry shook her head. "I knew the link was up, and I knew the rest of it was up to Dar." She looked over at her partner. "She had about two minutes to do what I guess was about three hours work."
Dar shrugged modestly. "I type fast." She gazed over at Alastair."So you're telling me after we did what we did at the Pentagon, and after all we did for them up to the Exchange, they were going to railroad us?"
Alastair nodded. "Honestly, Dar, it wasn't personal." He saw both women make a face, and glance at each other. "The VP and I go way back. In their minds it was a case of what they thought was right for the country versus a bunch of nerds from some company giving them a hive."
"Scary," Dar murmured.
"It was," Alastair admitted. "I was standing there kicking myself for making a stupid decision and knowing we were all going to pay for it. I didn't want us to be a public failure. Instead, I almost walked us into the end of the company."
"Except we got lucky," Dar said.
"You really think that was luck?"Alastair asked with a smile. "I think it was just people who refuse to stop until they hit the end zone."
Dar shrugged again, lifting her hand in the air and letting it fall. "We made it happen," she acknowledged. "I'm very proud of our team."
"So am I," Alastair said.
"What are you going to tell the board, Al?" Hamilton asked.
Alastair gazed out the window for a few moments in thoughtful silence. "Haven't decided yet. They know I turned them down. I told them I'd take the fall and they were all right with that."
"Morons," Dar commented.
Hamilton snickered. "Al, you have to tell them the whole deal. Lay it out. They gotta know in case this comes back at us."
"Beh."
"Have Dar tell em," the lawyer persisted. "She can get on that call with her typical badass attitude and tell them 'Hey morons! Listen up!'"He gazed fondly at Dar. "You'd do that for Al, wouldn't you, Maestro?"
"Sure," Dar readily agreed. "But I think he's right. I think you should tell the board exactly what happened, Alastair. Everything,including the threats because I think we'll need to decide what the hell we're going to do with our being the government's IT Siamese twin."
Kerry nodded, but kept quiet.
"Half our business is U.S. Government," Alastair stated. "Might get tough."
"If we disband the company," Kerry spoke up at last. "I vote we open a clam shack down in Key Largo where the highest tech item is a wifi hotspot on the tiki roof."
"You ready to retire already?" Hamilton asked her with a smile.
"Right now, yes," Kerry answered. "In a heartbeat."
"I'm with you on that one," Alastair responded, surprising them. "I'm going to have a hell of a time going in to work behind that damn desk after what we all just went through."
Kerry felt that at a gut level. The experience had changed all of them, to a more or lesser degree. She glanced past Dar out the other window as she heard the faint rumble of an airplane taking off. "Almost there."
Dar turned to look too. The entrance to the airport was guarded,and the limo slowed as they reached the checkpoint. "Let's hope they don't have orders to throw us in a paddy wagon." She sat back as the driver opened the windows for the guards to peer inside.
"Hello there." Alastair remained in a relaxed pose his hands still behind his head. "Just catching a flight."
The guard studied them, then turned away dismissively and waved them on. The window closed and they pulled into the airport terminal. "Guess we didn't look dangerous." Hamilton commented. "Little do they know, the poor suckers."
"They're going to freak with the bus." Dar predicted. "We still have half a ton of gear in the back lockers."
"Let's hope they don't," Kerry said. "Dad's back there."
They got to the curb and eased out of the limo onto a sidewalk that was eerily quiet. There were guards stationed along the walk, but only a few cars were there discharging passengers. Alastair signed for the limo driver, and then they stepped back and stood together for a moment.
"Here comes the bus." Hamilton indicated the big vehicle now winding its way toward them. "We should go in as a group. I think our tickets are booked on one big itinerary.'
"They are," Alastair confirmed. "Bea took care of it."
Kerry stood with her hands tucked into her hoodie pocket, watching the bus unload itself of its human and luggage cargo. The techs were all in good moods, glad the work was over and even more glad to beheaded home.
She certainly was. She drew in a careful breath and let it out, wincing against the throbbing ache in her side. It felt raw and very painful,as though the bone was creaking in there and every movement almost made her bite her lip.
She felt Dar's hand settle on her shoulder. "Hey," she murmured.
"Doing okay?"
Kerry pulled the hand on her good side out and waggled it, then returned it to its nest. "I'm glad I don't feel like a zombie anymore but boy, this hurts."
"I've got some Advil. Dr. Steve said you could take that." Dar offered. "Let's go inside and get through security and I'll get you some."
That sounded great to Kerry. She followed Dar into the building with the rest of the group as they entered the terminal and started across the worn carpet toward the check in area. It wasn't that busy and they all went up to the counter at the same time.
Kerry stood quietly just behind Dar's shoulder as her partner handed over both of their identifications and declined the offer to check their luggage. It all sounded very normal, and Kerry wondered if it had been that normal for the hijackers as they had checked in not quite a week ago.
The gate agent asked Dar if she'd packed her own luggage. Dar answered that she had, and that no one had given them anything to take on. But that wasn't true, really, since Andrew had packed both their bags.
Should Dar have said that? In this case, of course, it didn't matter because it was her father. But what had the terrorists said in response?